Kingdom Hearts (series)

Kingdom Hearts (キングダムハーツ, Kingudamu Hātsu) is a series of action role-playing games (RPG) developed and published by Square Enix. It is the result of a collaboration between Square and Disney Interactive Studios and is under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square character designer.

Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disney settings based in a universe made specifically for the series. In addition, it has an all-star voice cast which includes many of the Disney characters' official voice actors. Characters from Square Enix's Final Fantasy series make appearances and interact with the player and Disney characters. The series centers around the main character, Sora, in his search for his friends and his encounters with Disney and Final Fantasy characters on their worlds.

The Kingdom Hearts series currently consists of seven games across different video game platforms, with two remakes, and four spin-off games. Future titles are planned. Most of the games in the series have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, though each installment has seen varying levels of success. As of December 2006, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped over ten million copies worldwide, with 2.0 million copies in PAL regions, 3.0 million copies in Japan, and 5.6 million copies in North America.

There have been several types of merchandise released along with the games, such as soundtracks, figurines, and companion books. In addition, the games have also been adapted into a manga series and novels. In the U.S., the manga stopped production after Kingdom Hearts II Vol. 2 because of company issues. Japan has already moved onto Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days manga and the novels of all the games are only available there.

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Kingdom Hearts features a mixture of familiar Disney and Final Fantasy characters, as well as multiple new characters designed and created by Nomura. Though the series features locations unique to the Kingdom Hearts franchise, worlds from Disney films are heavily explored. Sora must visit these worlds and interact with popular Disney characters to protect them from enemies.

Often, Sora's actions in these worlds follow closely to the storylines featured in their accompanying Disney films. In one of the dialogues, Donald Duck tells Sora not to interfere with the worlds too much, since such interference would cause problems. Moogles, small creatures from the Final Fantasy series, are another common element in the games. They provide the player with synthesis shops in order to create items for use in the game.

The Kingdom Hearts series is directed by Tetsuya Nomura, who also works as the character designer of the games. Nomura has stated that unlike working with Final Fantasy characters, keeping the main character Sora alive and interesting over multiple games is a challenge. He has also stated that though many of the Disney characters are not normally dark and serious, there were not many challenges making them so for the story, and despite this, their personalities shine because they maintain their own characteristics.

Though Disney gave Nomura freedom in the characters and worlds used for the games, he and his staff tried to stay within the established roles of characters and boundaries of the worlds. When deciding which worlds to include in the game, the development staff tried to take into account worlds with Disney characters that would be interesting.

The inclusion of specific Final Fantasy characters was based on the opinions of fans and the development staff. Another criterion for inclusion was whether the staff felt the characters would fit into the storyline and in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Initially, Nomura was hesitant to use characters he did not design, because he was unfamiliar with the background work of such characters.

For Kingdom Hearts II, he changed his mind after receiving pressure from his staff. Throughout the development of the games, Nomura has often left certain events and connections between characters unexplained until the release of future games. Nomura did this because he feels that games should have room for fans to speculate and use their imagination. He stated that with speculation, even though a game gets old, people can still be happy with it.

The Kingdom Hearts series contains both 3rd-person fighting and role-playing game elements. The games are driven by a linear progression to the next story event, usually told in the form of a cutscene, though there are numerous side quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters. Furthermore, there are allies to aid the main character, Sora. The allies in play rely fully on A.I. controls, though players could later modify and customize their ability usage frequency. The combat system takes on real-time, meaning Sora could engage the enemy directly with various actions, such as attack and magic, which are executable during or after the battle.

In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories the combat system was altered as Sora is no longer aided by his friends, and all of his combat commands are only executable via Cards. The real-time combat system was also taken away, where the scene flashes whenever Sora engages an enemy, taking them to a wider combat field. This changed as the only successful way to attack was to have cards of a higher value as well as abilities taken out for Sleights instead.

The Gummi Ship is another common theme in the series, where it serves as a means of transportation for Sora and company to travel towards other worlds. Players can modify and customize these ships via blueprints and selected parts. In the release of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the first game contained Gummi Ship side quests. However, due to the criticism regarding the complexity of the Gummi Ship customization, the third game's Gummi Ship was toned down, providing easier and wider modifications, allowing players to customize it into either a small classed battle ship, or a grand carrier.

Another recurring element of the Kingdom Hearts series is Jiminy's Journal, which functions as a bestiary and provides hints and simple character information. The journal also records Sora's mini-game results, as well as unfinished side quests, allowing players to have easier resolutions to track the game.

In Kingdom Hearts II, the battle system introduced a new gameplay element: Drive Forms, which allow Sora to gain access to new abilities via his combat garment, and wielding two Keyblades for a limited time (however, not every form possess this ability). Magic is simpler to execute, and Sora's MP gauge will recharge automatically once it is used up. Another gameplay element introduced is the Reaction Command, various actions only executable in several specific situations. These actions vary from talking to a character to performing combat abilities in battle.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep introduced several new features to the series, such as Deck Commands, which allow you to use several unique attacks as well as items and magic, and the Dimension Link (D-Link), which gives you access to several deck commands otherwise unavailable to the player. There is also the Shotlock, which allows you to attack a multitude of enemies with many attacks, and the Focus Gauge, which is what allows you to use the Shotlock feature. It also introduces Command Styles where the player gains the use of a different and more powerful combo. By filling up the command gauge with either attacks or deck commands, the player will be able to execute a powerful finish command. Which command you use is different depending on if the player is using a D-link or a command style.

The games are influenced by their parent franchise, Final Fantasy, and carry its gameplay elements over into their own action-based, hack-and-slash system. Like many traditional role-playing games, Kingdom Hearts features an experience point system which determines character development. As enemies are defeated, the player gains experience which culminate in a "level-up", where the characters grow stronger and gain access to new abilities. The amount of experience is shared with all party members and each character grows stronger as experience is gained.

Another recurring feature is the World music; all worlds have at least one normal field song and most have at least one battle theme.

Three Keyblade apprentices, Terra, Aqua and Ventus, train under Master Eraqus to one day become Keyblade Masters. However, when Aqua is named Keyblade Master after passing her Mark of Mastery, Eraqus's fellow Keyblade Master Xehanort mysteriously disappears as monsters called the Unversed begin spreading throughout the worlds. Terra is sent to defeat the Unversed and locate Master Xehanort. Ventus is goaded into following Terra by Xehanort's enigmatic apprentice, Vanitas, and Aqua is instructed by Eraqus to bring Ventus back home. Along the way, Terra slowly begins to lose control in the darkness inside his heart, but finds solace with Master Xehanort, who appears to understand him.

Terra crosses paths with a young boy named Riku and chooses him as his successor. Ventus befriends fellow Keyblade apprentice, Mickey Mouse, and crosses paths several times with Vanitas. He eventually learns that Vanitas is actually the embodiment of the darkness inside him, extracted by Master Xehanort as part of his plan to forge the legendary χ-blade, capable of unlocking Kingdom Hearts itself. Ventus confronts Master Eraqus about this, who attempts to destroy him to stop the χ-blade's creation, but falls at the hands of Terra and Master Xehanort, the latter whom reveals his true intentions afterward.

Terra, Aqua and Ventus eventually battle both Master Xehanort and Vanitas in the Keyblade Graveyard, where Ventus and Terra's fates are sealed: Terra converted into Xehanort's vessel while his mind took residence in his discarded suit of armor, Vanitas merging back into Ventus and taking brief control over his body in a fight with Aqua and Mickey physically before the χ-blade he used is imperfect as the fusion is revealed to be. In his mind, Ventus sacrifices himself to destroy Vantias. However, as Aqua placed Ventus
comatose body to rest inside the Land of Departure, reformatted as Castle Oblivion, Ventus's heart makes contact with the heart of a young boy named Sora, entering the boy's body.

While looking for Terra, Aqua finds Xehanort in the Radiant Garden, where he was sent following the χ-blade's destruction, and battles him in an attempt to rescue Terra. As Xehanort begins to sink into the Realm of Darkness, Aqua follows and sacrifices her armor and Keyblade to save Terra's body while she remains in the darkness. Xehanort, now with amnesia, is found by the sage king of Radiant Garden, Ansem the Wise, and taken in as his apprentice. However, with the aid of his ally Braig, Xehanort unknowingly embarks on a back-up part he arranged if his plan had failed. By that time, Mickey passes his Mark of Mastery under Yen Sid and is awarded the title of Keyblade Master.

Ten years later, the story focus shifts to Sora, Riku, and their friend, Kairi (a former resident of Radiant Garden and who incidentally became Aqua's successor ten years before). The first game shows how Sora is separated from his friends when their world, Destiny Islands, is invaded by creatures known as the Heartless. During the invasion, losing Kairi, Sora obtains the Keyblade, as Ventus's heart is still within him while Riku accepted darkness and was dragged into the abyss. Soon after finding himself in Traverse Town, Sora meets Donald Duck and Goofy, two emissaries from Disney Castle searching for the "key" per instructions from Mickey, their King. The three band together and travel across the worlds, sealing the Keyholes to the hearts of the worlds to prevent more Heartless invasions.

Along the way, they encounter a group of Disney villains that are using the Heartless led by Maleficent, a sorceress that Master Xehanort revealed the nature of the worlds to and inspired her to conquer them by finding Kingdom Hearts, a door which holds the hearts of all worlds, by gathering the seven Princesses of Hearts. Furthermore, Riku is helping Maleficent in hopes that she can restore Kairi's heart as her body has been in a comatose state since the islands were gone. Though they eventually defeat Maleficent, the three discover that Ansem, who has apparently succumbed to the darkness, is the true mastermind and possessed Riku's body after he briefly obtained Sora's Keyblade. Ansem's plan is to open "Kingdom Hearts" in the hopes of attaining eternal darkness. Furthermore, learning that Kairi's heart was in his body prior to her fading away, Sora sacrifices himself to restore her while he became a Heartless prior to Kairi restoring him to normal. After Sora makes his way to the End of the World to Ansem and seal the door with the help of Riku and King Mickey on the other side.

After sealing the door to Kingdom Hearts, Sora, Donald, and Goofy begin searching for Riku and King Mickey, finding themselves heading towards a mysterious fortress called Castle Oblivion. Upon entering the fortress, they begin to lose their memories. The three encounter a group of dark hooded villains, part of a mysterious Organization. In the castle, Sora learns his memories have been manipulated by a girl named Naminé who was being held captive by the Organization's Marluxia, who is acting against the group's interest for his own agenda. Sora, Donald and Goofy fight their way through Castle Oblivion and eventually encounter and destroy Marluxia. To allow them to regain their memories, Naminé puts Sora, Donald, and Goofy to sleep for a year; in the process, they must lose the memories of their experience in Castle Oblivion.

As Sora traveled up Castle Oblivion's floors, Riku found himself in the basement of the castle and begins traveling to the first floor with the aid of King Mickey. Riku fights the Organization's Vexen and Lexaeus while dealing with both a Replica the former made in his image and what remained of Ansem within his heart. During his fight with Zexion, Riku learned to accept darkness and use for good. Allying himself with the mysterious DiZ after defeating his Replica, who became jaded and hateful after learning that Naminé was forced by Marluxia to place him under the delusion that he was the original, Riku defeated Ansem with Mickey's help as he ultimately suppressed the villain. However, knowing that Ansem still existed within him, Riku parted ways with Mickey and aids DiZ in safe-guarding Sora as Naminé restores his memories over the months that followed. However, a snag in the plan forces Riku to go after a young man named Roxas, the thirteenth member of the Organization who is also Sora's Nobody.

Created when Sora became a Heartless, Roxas was found by the Organization's leader Xemnas and was entrusted to Axel. While Axel was sent to Castle Oblivion to deal with Marluxia and meeting Sora in the process, Roxas befriended the group's new member Xion. When Axel returned, three members dealt with by Sora and Riku and two by Axel himself, the three became good friends as they three spend their breaks from missions together. However, when Xion is revealed to a replica created from Sora's memories, Roxas defected from the Organization after doubting their true motives and desiring to meet Sora in person. However, being reprogrammed, Xion is made to attack Roxas who is forced to mortally wound her. Entrusting Roxas with her being and Keyblade, her memory in everyone slowly fading, Roxas attempted to go after Xemnas. However, Roxas encounters Riku who succumbs to the Darkness inside him and takes on the appearance of Ansem. With his newfound power, Riku subdues Roxas and takes him to DiZ, but the ordeal leaves him stuck in Ansem's form. With their plan successful, DiZ orders Riku to eliminate Naminé, but Riku refuses, and instead lets Naminé go with Axel.

Seven days after Riku's success, with Roxas absorbed back into him, Sora awakens in Twilight Town after a year of rest. With no memory of their time at Castle Oblivion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy resume their search for Riku and King Mickey. They learn of the Nobodies and are re-familiarized with their leaders, Organization XIII. Afterwards, Maleficent is resurrected and joins with Pete, a resident of Donald and Goofy's world, to find a new base of operations before resuming her quest for power and revenge on Sora. Sora once again travels to many worlds and resolves the troubles caused by not just Maleficent and Pete, but also Organization XIII, referred by some of them as "Roxas", and a mysterious man in their attire. Meanwhile, wanting to see Roxas again, Kairi is kidnapped by the now-rogue Axel who is pursued by the Organization.

While in Hollow Bastion, Sora's group finds King Mickey, who reveals that the "Ansem" Sora defeated was actually the Heartless of Xehanort, who, sometime after being found by Ansem the Wise, betrayed his master and stole his name, and since then, the real Ansem has been missing. Furthermore, they learn that Xehanort's Nobody, Xemnas, is the leader of Organization XIII. While fighting the invading hordes of Heartless, Sora learns from an Organization member named Saix that he is helping in their agenda to obtain Kingdom Hearts by destroying Emblem Heartless with his Keyblade, releasing their captive hearts to be absorbed into their Kingdom Hearts. As further incentive, Saix reveals that he abducted Kairi from Axel to force Sora into continuing fight Heartless for them.

Eventually, Sora and his group arrive at the headquarters of Organization XIII, The World That Never Was, with their own artificial Kingdom Hearts looming overhead, crafted from all the Heartless Sora has defeated. Sora defeats one of the remaining Organization members Xigbar, (who cryptically compares Sora to Terra, Aqua and Ventus due to his previous existence as Braig) as he is finally reunited with Kairi, who obtained her Keyblade, and Riku, who was the mysterious hooded man and reveals Roxas's identity to him. While Sora's group defeats Saix, Mickey finds DiZ, revealed to be a disguised Ansem, with a device to digitize some of Kingdom Hearts' power; as the others arrive, the system overload causes the machine to explode with Ansem consumed in the blast while purging "Ansem" from Riku to restore him to his original state.

At the top of the castle, Sora and his friends battle Xemnas, who uses the remnants of Kingdom Hearts to fight them. Refusing to accept defeat, Xemnas separates Sora and Riku from the others to fight them in a final battle that ends with his demise. Though trapped in the Realm of Darkness, Sora and Riku are able to return to their world via the Door to Light, which was mysteriously triggered from Sora's heart. Reunited with their friends, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy return to their world. However, while reviewing the journals, Jiminy finds a shocking discovery.

With the threat of the Heartless and Nobodies apparently over, Mickey, Donald and Goofy return to Disney Castle. There they stumble across a mysterious message written in Jiminy Cricket's Journal, "Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it". Mickey digitizes the journal and creates a Sora made from Data to uncover the mystery.

Following the journal's debugging, Mickey and Data-Sora find the source of the sentence: it was a message from Naminé. She had integrated a data version of herself into the journal to inform Sora that he is the "Key that connects everything". Showing images of those with deep ties to Sora's heart namely the real Naminé, Roxas, Xion, and Axel, Data-Naminé explains the message is related to three figures tied to distant past: Terra, Aqua and Ventus. Soon after, Mickey also receives the news from Yen Sid that the destruction of "Ansem" and Xemnas has led to the return of Xehanort and will eventually bring back Master Xehanort. Yen Sid orders Mickey to summon Sora and Riku to him to undertake a Mark of Mastery Exam to properly combat Xehanort. On Destiny Islands, recieving Mickey's letter, Sora and Riku make the decision to venture out to find and rescue their predecessors.

By that time, in the Realm of Darkness, Aqua stumbles across Ansem the Wise, who survived the explosion of the Kingdom Hearts Encoder, which sent him there. Ansem, with few of his memories remaining, fills Aqua in about his experiences with Sora, which brings Aqua to tears of joy, believing Sora will come and rescue her and her friends.

Riku and Sora are summoned to Yen Sid, who tells them about the threat of Master Xehanort and that they would need the individuals ( Terra, Aqua and Ventus) who King Mickey mentioned in his letter. In order to save them, they must unlock seven sleeping keyholes inside the Realm of Sleep, where a few worlds that were supposed to be released from darkness when "Ansem" was defeated are in a state of rest. As Sora and Riku start their journey, ending up in Traverse Town, they learn that world has been split in two by a hooded man and remain separated from each other. While travelling to many worlds, they eventually meet this mysterious figure, who can summon past figures like Xemnas and "Ansem" from the darkness.

Meanwhile at Radiant Garden, Lea, Axel's original persona, is restored along with Ansem's apprentices. However, only Braig and Isa, the original selves of Xigbar and Saix, have not returned. As Lea resolves to track his friend and Braig down, Mickey receives Minnie's tiara from Diablo and he returns to Disney Castle where Maleficent unveils her plan. Lea appears, driving Maleficent off before asking an audience with Yen Sid to receive a Keyblade.

After all sleeping worlds have been restored, Sora and Riku are called into the World That Never Was, where Sora learns the mysterious figure is actually a youthful incarnation of Xehanort from an alternate timeline. Before being captured, Sora learns the true purpose of Organization XIII from Xemnas and Xigbar: to collect ideal vessels for Master Xehanort's heart. However, when the plan failed, Young Xehanort uses his temporal powers to gather various incarnations of Xehanort from across time to create a new Organization to represent the "13 Darknesses."

Riku and Mickey confront this Organization while rescuing Sora, witnessing Master Xehanort's return prior to him revealing how the events of Sora's adventure were all arranged so that the 13 Darknesses collide with The Seven Lights in a fool-proof plan to create the x-blade and trigger a new Keyblade War. Though Riku was supposed to be the 13th vessel for a piece of Master Xehanort's heart, his ability to contain darkness forced Xehanort to use Sora, as both his Nobody was a member of the previous Organization and he possesses Ventus's heart. But at the last second, Lea comes to the rescue with the new Organization XIII taking their leave. After Riku travels inside Sora's heart to restore him, Yen Sid names him a Keyblade Master while Sora returns to the Realm of Sleep to attempt the Mark of Mastery once more. With Lea offering to aid them in fighting Xehanort, Yen Sid has Riku bring Kairi to him in order to train her in using her Keyblade.

The Kingdom Hearts franchise also keeps most content "Child Friendly". This includes leaving out curse words and overtly revealing female outfits as well as sexual references. Though these are common throughout the Final Fantasy series, the series prides on Disney's classic values.

The main controversy that caused Kingdom Hearts II's rating to go from E to E10+ was in Port Royal, as this world contains brief scenes of blood as well as a moment where Barbossa drinks alcohol. Also Will Turner threatens to kill himself. Though there are some instances of mild censorship breaks, overall the Kingdom Hearts series stays a child-friendly game.

The series is mostly in sequential order. The first game in the timeline is Kingdom Hearts χ, which gives an insight into the series of events which led up to the Keyblade War. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is the next game in the series, and tells the story of three Keyblade wielders (Terra, Ventus, and Aqua) a long time after the Keyblade War has taken place. Ten years later is where the first Kingdom Hearts picks up, revolving around the first adventure of Sora.

Next are Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days which take place around the same time as each other. Kingdom Hearts II follows Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories & Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and takes place one year after Kingdom Hearts though it is more so a sequel to Kingdom Hearts rather than the Gameboy Advance game. Kingdom Hearts coded takes place briefly after Kingdom Hearts II but before the latter's final ending, seen after the end credits.

After Kingdom Hearts coded is Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[1], and the game's ending will lead fairly directly into Kingdom Hearts III,[2] which will serve as the final chapter of what Tetsuya Nomura calls the "Xehanort Saga".

This is the chronological order of the games released within the series:

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories - PS2 remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories which was included with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix in Japan and later released separately in the US (Japanese and US releases).

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX - Remake bundle including Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, and the cutscenes for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. It was released in Japan on March 14, 2013, September 10, 2013 in North America, September 12, 2013 in Australia, and finally September 13, 2013 in Europe.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX - Remake bundle including Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, and the cutscenes for Kingdom Hearts re:coded. The game was released on October 2nd 2014 in Japan, December 2nd 2014 in North America, and December 5th in Europe.

Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ - Remake of Kingdom Hearts χ remade for smartphones and international release. The game was released on September 3, 2015 in Japan; April 7, 2016 in North America, and is soon scheduled for release in Europe.

The sum of all the letters in the names Sora, Riku, and Kairi is thirteen. The same is true for Roxas, Sora, and Xion, as well as Roxas, Axel and Xion, and Ventus and Vanitas. Also, if one does not count the dash, there are thirteen letters in "Terra-Xehanort" and "Ventus-Vanitas".

In the opening movie of Kingdom Hearts the letter "M" in the word "Kingdom" surges towards the screen distinctly, with "M" being the thirteenth letter in the alphabet.

Using the Restore Count reaction command during Marluxia's fight in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix will restore the hit counter by thirteen points.

With the exception of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, which only has twelve worlds in total, In each major installment of the series, the final world is the thirteenth: in Kingdom Hearts, End of the World is the thirteenth world to be seen (counting Disney Castle); in Kingdom Hearts II, The World That Never Was is the thirteenth world; and in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, it is the Keyblade Graveyard (counting Destiny Islands). In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Castle Oblivion has thirteen floors. If one counts the ground level as well, there are also thirteen basements.

There are thirteen letters in "End of the World", "Hollow Bastion" and "Radiant Garden".

Put together, there are thirteen letters in "Light" and "Darkness".

In Kingdom Hearts II, it takes thirteen hits to defeat Seifer for the first time.

In Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, there are thirteen System Sectors, one of which contains thirteen floors.

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Sora is referred to as "Combatant thirteen" in The Grid.

↑Weekly Famitsu interview, November 17, 2010: Tetsuya Nomura: "Kingdom Hearts 3D connects to Kingdom Hearts III; I plan on showing how they evolutionarily progress. [...] both the system and the story are tied to Kingdom Hearts III. It's likely that the ending of 3D will continue into the story of KH3."